The women’s tennis team is continuing its success against nationally top-ranked teams.
During a road trip this past weekend to Fayetteville, Ark., the No. 25 Yale women’s tennis team (3–1, 0–0 Ivy) defeated No. 31 Oklahoma 6–1 on Saturday and No. 32 Arkansas 5–2 on Sunday.
Team member Vicky Brook ’12 said that the wins on the road were a good way to solidify Yale’s status as a highly-ranked team.
“I think because we were ranked a little higher and because we had such a successful start that there was a target on our backs,” Brook said. “They really wanted to beat us, but we did a good job of showing them how strong of a team we are both physically and mentally.”
Against Oklahoma on Saturday, Yale swept the three doubles matches. Hanna Yu ’15 and Brook defeated Oklahoma’s Marie-Pier Huet and Whitney Ritchie 8–4 at No. 1. Elizabeth Epstein ’13 and Annie Sullivan ’14 won 8–1 at No. 2, and Stephanie Kent ’12 and Blair Seideman ’14 won 8–4 at No. 3. (Seideman is a staff photographer for the News.)
Epstein said she knew the team was capable of a win but did not expect to win by such a large margin.
In the singles round the team won every match except for the No. 2 spot, with Seideman falling to Oklahoma’s Ritchie in straight sets 6–3, 6–1. Both freshmen were given the opportunity to play and came out victorious after struggling a little at first. Yu won at No. 2, 6–4, 6–4 and Amber Li ’15 won at No. 6, 7–6, 6–4.
“We were in a bit of a hole on Sunday in the singles matches,” Brook said. “Three of the girls on our team were able to dig their heels in and find a way to win, which we are all really proud of.”
On Sunday against Arkansas Yale had a repeat performance for doubles. All three spots came out on top, starting with the No. 2 pair of Epstein and Sullivan with an 8–3 victory. Brook and Yu came out with an 8–5 win at No. 1, along with the victory at No. 3, with Seideman and Kent winning 8–3. Singles was equally as successful, with all but two players out of six winning their matches.
Coach Danielle McNamara attributed much of the team’s success over the weekend to the support the teammates showed each other both on and off the court.
“It was a real team effort and everyone contributed in some way — even the cheering on the side helped those still on court,” McNamara said. “Yesterday’s match in particular was rather intense. It’s a competitive conference, and I think that the hostile fan environment was handled well. It was a really tough place to play.”
Yale will host Ivy foes and other rivals at the ECAC women’s tennis championships next weekend. Brook said that Yale will be looking to prolong its winning streak.
Correction: Feb. 19
A previous version of this article stated that Vicky Brook ’12 is the captain of the women’s tennis team. In fact, Stephanie Kent ’12 is the team’s captain.